The invention relates to an apparatus for the discontinuous preparation of portioned pasta products, in particular spaghetti, with a supply container to receive the raw products, a cooking chamber and a draining chamber, Wherein the cooking and draining chambers can each be closed by valves in their inlet and outlet regions, and in addition an apparatus for portioning a predetermined amount of long-stemmed pasta products, in particular spaghetti, and transferring them into the cooking chamber of the former apparatus.
Apparatus for the discontinuous preparation of portioned pasta products have been designed in many different ways. Their purpose is to prepare a portioned amount of raw pasta product in the shortest possible time, and therefore they are employed in food-dispensing automats. One such known apparatus is disclosed in WO 90/04345. There the raw products situated above a cooking chamber are delivered in portions into the cooking chamber, the chamber is closed, and the pasta products are cooked at a preset temperature and corresponding pressure for a relatively short time. The cooked pasta products then leave the chamber along with the cooking water and pass into a connected draining chamber where the water is removed. Finally they are transferred to a suitable receptacle, for example a plate.
The cooking chamber is closed by two ball valves, one in the inlet region and the other in the outlet region, an arrangement that both allows filling and emptying of the cooking chamber and also, during the cooking process, guarantees that the cooking chamber is securely sealed. However, because ball valves operate with relatively high friction, they are extremely sluggish and a degree of force is needed to actuate them, so that as a rule pneumatic actuators are employed. Another disadvantage of ball valves is that they are relatively tall components, so that they increase the overall height of the above-mentioned apparatus. Finally, the use of a ball valve in the outlet region of the cooking chamber is not optimal because the pasta products--now cooked and hence delicate--can be damaged when passing through the valve.
It is therefore the object of the invention to design and develop an apparatus for discontinuous preparation of portioned pasta products of the kind cited above in such a way that the above-mentioned disadvantages are avoided and, in particular, the overall height of the whole apparatus, determined substantially by the vertically stacked elements supply container, cooking chamber and draining chamber, is kept as small as possible. Furthermore, it is desired that the cooked products be passed on to the consumer in as nearly undamaged a state as possible. Finally, the apparatus is to be made simple in construction so as to ensure that after a cooking process no remnants of pasta are left within the chambers.
This object is achieved in a first embodiment of the invention by constructing the valves in the inlet region of the cooking chamber and in the outlet region of the draining chamber in the form of shut-off flaps that slide transversely with respect to the input and output directions in a linear motion, while spaced apart from the associated chamber wall in which the opening is disposed, and by moving the shut-off flaps into the closed position at the end of the linear motion by means of a lever mechanism that presses the flap against the opening of the associated chamber in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the opening. In respect of the apparatus for portioning a predetermined amount of long-stemmed pasta product, the problem is solved in accordance with the invention in that the products are stored horizontally in at least one funnel-shaped container, that a dosing plate of adjustable height is provided at the bottom of each funnel-shaped container, that the stored products are divided into portions by separating out a desired amount thereof with a separation plate disposed above each dosing plate, and that a delivery vessel that can be pivoted over 90 ( is provided in the region below each dosing plate and serves to load the cooking chamber.
The known ball valve is thus replaced, in accordance with the invention, by a linearly displaceable shut-off flap that is first shifted laterally and only thereafter is pressed against the corresponding chamber opening. This pressing is accomplished by a lever mechanism, so that the driving power can be made extremely small for both the linear motion and the lever movement. As a result, the height of the valve components in the apparatus in accordance with the invention is very favorable, so that the overall height of the apparatus becomes small enough to enable convenient handling of the automat equipped with the apparatus in accordance with the invention. It is possible to achieve an overall height of little more than one meter.
In a further development of the invention, only a single motor is provided to move the shut-off flap in both directions, i.e. the horizontal linear displacement and the vertical pressing direction. For this purpose, as additionally taught by the invention, it has proved especially advantageous to provide a sliding clutch so that when the shut-off flap has reached its final position for closure, the flap itself stays in that position although linear movement of the driving means is continued in order to actuate the lever mechanism. In this way rapid and secure closure can be guaranteed without elaborate construction.
As still another development of the invention, in the outlet region of the cooking chamber and in the inlet region of the draining chamber there is provided a single valve in the form of a pivoted shut-off flap, which is closed and locked by means of a linear drive and an articulated-lever mechanism. In this case it is advisable for the flap to be disposed inside the draining chamber, to ensure that the cooking chamber will be completely emptied. The linear drive means for this valve is preferably disposed outside the draining chamber.
The use of an articulated-lever mechanism is especially important, because here again a drive motor of relatively small dimensions is desirable and the articulated-lever construction isolates the motor from the high pressures of several bar that are generated in the cooking chamber during cooking.
Cooking chambers closed with the shut-off flaps described above have been shown to withstand pressures up to 50 bar, although in subsequent operation such high pressures are very unlikely to occur. As the linear drive means, in a preferred embodiment a piston/cylinder unit is provided.
To obtain optimal sealing in accordance with the invention, all shut-off valves and/or chamber walls in the plane of the opening are provided with sealing elements. In this regard it is advisable that there be disposed in the region of each chamber opening a sealing element matched in shape to the contour of the opening.
It is especially advantageous that the openings be made round in cross section, and that O-rings be provided as sealing elements. The O-rings employed here have a relatively long service life, because all the shut-off flaps are set onto the openings in a nearly perpendicular direction so that no shearing off, pinching or slippage can occur. Furthermore, when the shut-off flap is open, O-rings are easily exchangeable.
It was mentioned above that the height of the portioning apparatus in accordance with the invention is also extremely small. The reason is that the horizontally stored raw pasta products, such as spaghetti or the like, are discharged into delivery vessel, disposed beside the wall of the supply container, which tilts them from the horizontal into a vertical position. According to another teaching of the invention, two supply containers are provided, their two parallel walls being spaced apart from one another in such a way as to create a space between the two supply containers within which the delivery vessel can pivot.
This arrangement ensures that even with long pasta products, such as spaghetti, the floor of the supply container(s) can be disposed only slightly above the opening of the cooking chamber.
When the apparatus in accordance with the invention is in operation, the heat within the cooking chamber cannot be completely dissipated; as a result, it can happen that the normally relatively rigid pasta products acquire a somewhat softer consistency. In order that a specific volume of raw products can nevertheless be separated without destroying or damaging the raw pasta products, according to a further teaching of the invention a separation plate with a rounded edge is provided, and when the separation plate has been inserted into the supply container, its rounded edge rests above a projection without touching the wall of the supply container.
This is a reliable means of preventing any crushing or breakage of the products due to the mechanical action of the separation plate. It has proved unnecessary for the separation plate to touch either the opposing wall or the projection attached to this wall; instead, it is particularly useful for the distance between the separation plate pushed into the supply container and the projection to correspond approximately to the diameter of the pasta products being processed. That is, the arrangement prevents further products from slipping out after the desired amount has been removed, inasmuch as the products resting on the projection reliably "plug" the gap between projection and separation plate.